Machine for cleaning fur



Jue 13., 1944.

s. FRIEDMAN l MACHINE FOR CLEANING FUR Filed Nov. 29, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR SAMUEL FRIEDMAN F ATTORNEY s. FRIEDMAN MACHINE FOR CLEANING FUR June 13, 1944.

` 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Filed Nov. 29, y19:59

A INVENTOR n .SAMUEL FRIEDMAN ATTORNEY Patented June 13, 1944 UNITED STATES "i PATENT .OFFICEv L,Y q

` `2,351,198 f MACHINE YFort CLEANING FUR Samuel Friedman, Brooklyn, N. Y.- A Application November 29, 1939, serial No. 306,628

s claims. (01.15-12) This invention relatesvto machinery for clean-,- M

ing fur. ,3

The primary object of my invention is `to generally improve fur cleaning machinery, particularly of thetype using a single tumbler for both drumming and caging l n More specific objects of my invention are to thoroughly rid the= tumbler of all sawdust when caging the fur; to provide a brush for brushing .thesawdust outof the tumbler compartment; to mount said brush yieldablyto prevent packing of sawdust by the brush during drumming and to suitably space and distribute the, blades on the tumbler to prevent packing of the sawdust by the blades. i A

Still another object of the invention is to provide the peripheral surface 'of the tumbler with means to exerta desired amount "of friction and something akin to a washboard effect',y on fthe fur, this being most simply done by the use of wood dowels extending in axial direction around the tumbler and forming a direct part .of the cage-like periphery of the tumbler. Still another object is to provide a casing for the machine which is .divided into a plurality of mutually sealed compartments arranged in a most convenient way forl relative disposition and accessibility to the parts of the machine.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing, and such other objects asV will hereinafter appear, m'y invention consists'in the fur cleaning elements andv their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are `more particularly described in the specication and sought to be defined in the claims. The specication is accompanied by drawings, in which: .l i

Fig. l is a verticalsection taken throughfthe machine. immediately behind th'effront wall of the machine, as is indicated by the line I-l in Fig. 3; l

Fig.'2 is a rear elevation of the machine with `a part of the back wall of the casing-and the tumbler removed; l

Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned side elevation of the machine; v l Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken in the plane 0f the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary sections through the periphery of the tumbler and illustrate details of the construction;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of thebrush carried by the tumbler, drawn to enlarged scale, and

Fig. 9 is explanatory of the method of assembly of the parts` of the back' plate of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, andgmore particu-v larly to Fig. 1, the fur cleaning machine coniprisesL a casing l2 divided by suitable partitions into a tumbler compartment I4 carrying a tum? bler I6, `a sawdust-receiving compartment i8, air-Iiltering and dust-collecting compartments 20 and 22, and a motor compartment 24. rlhe latter is centrally located at the base of the machine. v Referring now to Fig. 4, the front wall 26 jcfthe machine. has a main door 28, preferably provided with a 4subordinate door 'orjvent 3D which lmay be opened during caging.f fl1'hisis preferably made transparentso thatA the contentsn cflthe tumbler may Vbeobserved when drumming.. ,Apr prcpriate control switches are'provided at. 32 ,sp that the tumbler motorf may be run without the fan during drumming, and both motors operated during caging. A handle`I 34. controls a door between the tumbler compartment and ,the sawdust-receiving compartment. Access to, the sawdust for removal and reuse .is obtained at 36 which may, if desired, be the front wallof the sawdust-collecting drawer. n The' motorsy are ac: cessible for lubrication and servicing by means of a suitable door 38. 'The air-filtering compartment need not be opened to shake dust from the dust'- bag downwardly into the dust-collecting drawer, for this may be done by means of a handle 40 at the side of the machine. Door 42 may be opened to expose this compartment of the machine, and for removal and emptying of the dustdrawer,

Considering the arrangement in greateri detail, and referring now to Figs. 1 and 3, the `tumbler I6 comprises a circular rear Wall 44, and acircular front wall 46, the latter Vhaving a large -opening 48 therein defined by a ring-like or cylindrical bearing Sill.y -This isflanged at its inner end at 52 and secured to the lfrontwall 46 of the drum. It is rotatably supported on wheels 54. These are best shown in Fig. 2 in which it`will be seen that the wheels 54 are vcarried by angle irons 56 connected at 58 and all mounted on the inside of the front wall 26 of the casing,

The back wall 44 of the drum carries a Vrearwardly projecting shaft or spindle 60 which is rigidly connected to a plate 62 (Fig. 1) Xed ,on the drum wall. In Fig. 3 it will be seen that the shaft 60 is rotatably supported in a bearing 64 carried cna member 66 secured to the rear plate 68 of the casing. Itemay be pointed out that the rear wall of the casing is'made `upof Vthree plates 68, 'l0 andi'lZ, these being joined in edge to edge relation by joints, such as that illustrated at 14 inY Fig. 9;,- The tumbler` maybe v removed from the machine by removing the rear around the dowels 82. Referring to Fig. 7, it will be seen that dowel 82 is recessed slightly to rethe same time the connection offconduit |24 to ceive wire 84, thus guarding against sideward dis- Y ery of the tumbler is provided with a series of i -i blades 86, 88, 90 and 92. These cooperate with a curved plate 94 disposed beneath the tumbler and carry the sawdust around during drumming, so that the sawdust falls through the upper part of thetumbler and throughthe fur, and again reaches the plate 94 to be again scooped up. In Fig. 3, it will Vbe seen' that the blades96 through 92 are short in length andare relatively different in length and location. This staggeredrelation prevents excessive packing 'of the lsawdust as it is carried aroundv plate 94, and greatly reduces the amount of power needed to drive the machine. I The construction of the blades is illustrated in Fig. 6, it being seenv that each blade is carried by a channel member 96, extending between the end walls of the tumbler.

, After the Vdrumming"operationthe sawdust may be removed by opening a long, narrow door |00 (Fig, 1)located at one side ofplate 94. This door is opened by turningv handle 34 (Fig. 4) connected Yto shaft |02,(Fig. 1)k carrying Varm 04 connected byl link |06 to door |00, the latter being hinged at |08. The relative position ofthe parts vwhen the door I 00 is closed is shown in Fig. 2. Y When the door |00 is opened, as shownin Fig. 1the blades move the sawdust through the open door and rit falls downwardly into a funnel or hopper ||0, the.op.en lower end of which is disposed over a 'sawdust-collecting box or drawer H2. In order tov insure complete and thorough removal of the sawdust from plate 94, preparatoryto caging, thetumbler is provided with a brush I4, best shown in Fig. 8. This brush extends 4all theA way from `one side of the tumbler tothe otherland is pivotally mounted at I|6, so that it. may be yieldably urged against plate 94, as by means of a gravity operated weight |I8.

Weight ||8g is receivable into a recess |20 formedI on the outside of the drum wall. A weight of this `character may be provided 'at either or both Yendsof the brush. The main reason for the yieldlable .mounting of the brush is to prevent excessive :packing of the sawdust'by the brush during the 'drummingoperation when all of the sawdust is being handled. this time theI brush readily folds rearwardly and creates no excessive Vresistance to turning of the tumbler. When, however, the door |00 isopened andmost of the sawdust has been discharged into 'the sawdust box, the brush comes into full effect inmthoroughly sweeping out all vremaining sawdust particles from the tumbler y compartment.

` After the sawdust has been transferred from the tumbler compartment to the sawdust-receiv- `the sawdust compartment is at such a high and oset point that there is no danger of sawdust being drawn upwardly from box I2.

Fan |22 is driven by a motor |28, and the fan and motor combination may be of conventional character. However, it is preferably mounted at an angle, as shown at Fig. 5, so that neither the suction conduit |24v or the discharge conduit will include any sharp bends. The discharge conduit |30 leads directly into the compartment 22. l 1

The air-ltering Yand dust-collecting compartment comprises the two parts 20 and 22 previously referred to, these parts being divided by a horizontal partition |32, which is largely cut away and provided with a ring |34, `to which is connected the open lower end of a dustbag |36. The upper end |30 of bag |36 is closed. A ilue |40 leadsV from the upper'end ofcompartment 20, and it will be observed that the tumbler is offset somewhat from the center of the casing in order to permit compartment `20l to extend all the way to the top of the casing. f l

It will be understood that the dust-laden air flows into compartment 22 and then upwardly into bag |36. The ltered -air flows through the bag and out of flue |40. Because of the inverted position of the bag, there is a natural tendency for the collected dirt to fall downwardly where it is caught inbox or drawer |42. However, it is preferable, at intervals, to shake the bag |36 in -order to rid it of most of the dirt. This may be conveniently done from the outside of the machine by oscillating a handle 40, the shaft |44 of which oscillates an arm |46 connected to the upper end |38 of bag |36. In Fig. 2, the arm |46 is shown in down position, and bag |36 is collapsed. A torsion spring |43 normally turns the arm |46 to uppermost position, thereby stretching out the bag |36 to its ful1 extent. By oscillating handle several times the bag |36 is eectively shaken, and substantially all of the dirt is discharged therefrom into the box |42.

The tumbler is driven by a suitable motor |50, best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. This is connected through appropriate pulleys and a belt |52 to a shaft 54 which projects through the rear wall of the casing, it being carried by a bearing plate |56, best shown in Fig. 2. The outside end of shaft |54 carries a Sprocket pinion |58 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5), and this drives a chain |60 (Figs. 1 and 3), which in turn meshes with the sprocket'l gear |62 carried at the outer end of tumbler'shaft 60, previously referred to.

The'corner of the casing opposite the ue |40 maybe provided with a dummy ue vor closed part H0 (Fig. 1) for ornamentation and symmetry in appearance. A lamp |12 is located at this point, and is protected from any dust circulating in the tumbler compartment by arsuitable glass |74. Lamp |12 illuminates the interior of the tumbler compartment, so that the action of the fur in the tumbler may be better seen when looking through the front door or vent ofthe casing.A

It is believed that the construction andjoperation, as well as the many advantages of my iinproved fur Icleaning machine, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. The fur is cleaned in two stages; first, a drumming stage in which it is repeatedly tumbled in a closed compartment carrying a charge of sawdust saturated with appropriate chemicals, or cleaning materials. .Then thesawdust is transferred from the tumbling compartment to a sawdust-receiving compartment where it is available for reuse. To then cage the fur it is merely necessary to open the vent at the front of the machine and to start the fan motor.

The tumbling compartment is readily accessible by means of the large front door for loading and unloading the tumbler with fur. The sawdust compartment is readily accessible for removal and reuse of the sawdust, The dustcollecting compartment is readily accessible for removal of the collected dirt. The dustbag or filter is readily cleared from time to time without opening the casing of the machine at all, there being an outside handle for this purpose. The motors are fully accessible for servicing and are protected against dirt because they are located in a sealed motor compartment fully separated from the other compartments of the machine. For more extensive servicing of the machine the entire back wall of the casing may be removed in sections.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, many changes and modications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as sought to be dened in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A fur cleaning machine comprising a rotatably mounted cage-like tumbler, a curved plate disposed therebeneath and spaced slightly therefrom, blades on the outside of said tumbler adapted to scoop sawdust from said plate so as to circulate the same through the tumbler for drumming said blades' being comparatively short in axial direction and being located in staggered relation to one another in order to avoid excessive packing of the sawdust on the plate.

2. A fur cleaning machine comprising a rotatably mounted cage-like tumbler, a curved pla-te disposed therebeneath and spaced slightly therefrom, blades on the outside of said tumbler adapted to scoop sawdust from said plate so as to circulate the same through the tumbler for drumming said blades being comparatively short in axial direction and being located in staggered relation to one another in order to avoid excessive packing of the sawdust on the plate, an openable door on said plate at a point substantially oliset sidewardly from the vertical plane passing through the axis of the tumbler, and a receptacle to receive the sawdust discharged through said door.

A fur cleaning machine comprising a rotatably mounted cage-like tumbler, a curved plate disposed there-,beneath and spaced slightly therefrom, blades on the outside of said tumbler adapted to scoop sawdust from said plate so as to circulate the same through the tumbler for drumming an openable door on said plate at a point substantially offset sidewardly from the vertical plane passing through the axis of the tumbler, a brush on the outside of said tumbler for sweeping al1 of the sawdust through the door preparatory to caging, and means pivotally yieldably mounting said brush to avoid excessive packing of thesawdust.

4. A fur cleaning machine comprising a rotatably mountedcage-like tumbler, a curved plate disposed therebeneath and spaced slightly therefrom, blades on the outside of said tumbler adapted to scoop sawdust from said plate so as to circulate the same through'the tumbler for drumming l said blades i being comparatively short in axial direction and being located in staggered relation to one another in order to avoid excessive packing of the sawdust on the plate during drumming an openable door on said plate at a point substantially offset sidewardly from the vertical plane passing through the axis of the tumbler, a brush on the outside of said tumbler for sweeping all of the sawdust through the door preparatory to caging, and means pivotally yieldably mounting said brush to avoid excessive packing of the sawdust by the brush during drumming 5. A fur cleaning machine comprising a casing with suitable partitions dividing same into four main compartments sealed from one another, one of said compartments receiving a rotatable tumbler, another compartment including a hopper located generally below the tumbler compartment and leading downwardly to a sawdust receptacle, an air ltering and dust collecting compartment, and a motor compartment, said motor compartment containing a driving motor for rotating the drum and a fan and fan motor, the intake side of the fan being connected to the aforesaid sawdust hopper and the discharge side of the fan being connected to the air filtering and dust collecting compartment.

6, A fur cleaning machine comprising a casing with suitable partitions dividing same into four main compartments sealed from one another, one of said compartments receiving a rotatable tumbler and having a curved bottom plate for collecting sawdust beneath the tumbler, said tumbler having means to engage and move sawdust collected between said tumbler and said bottom plate, another compartment being located at one side of said casing beneath said plate and including a hopper leading downwardly to a sawdust receptaclea door on said sawdust collecting plate above said hopper, an air filtering and dust collecting compartment at the opposite side of said casing, and a motor compartment at the bottom of said casing in the center region thereof, said motor compartment containing a driving motor for rotating the drum and a fan and fan motor, the intake side of the fan being connected to the aforesaid sawdust hopper and the discharge side of the fan being connected to the air filtering and dust collecting compartment.

7. A furcleaning machine comprising a casing with suitable partitions dividing same into four main compartments sealed from one another, one of said compartments receiving a rotatable tumbler and having a curved bottom plate for collecting sawdust beneath the tumbler, said tumbler having means to engage and move sawdust collected between said tumbler and said bottom plate, another compartment being located at one side of said casing beneath said plate and including a hopper leading downwardly to a sawdust receptacle, a door on said sawdust collecting.

therefrom, blades on the outside of said tumbler 10 adapted to scoop sawdust from said platepso as to Lcirculate the same through the tumbler for drumming said blades being comparatively short in axial direction and being located in staggered relation to one another in order to avoid excessive packing of the sawdust on the plate, a downwardly openable door on said plate, and apreceptacle beneath said door to receive the sawdust discharged through said door.

SAMUEL FRIEDMAN. 

